The x-factor may be whether we can find that third scorer. We have a lot of other question marks. However, if we can find that third guy that can efficiently score 14 or 15 a game, the staff seems to have enough options to work out the other stuff. This roster doesn't seem to have the inherent offense/defense tradeoff problems of past rosters.

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The x-factor may be whether we can find that third scorer. We have a lot of other question marks. However, if we can find that third guy that can efficiently score 14 or 15 a game, the staff seems to have enough options to work out the other stuff. This roster doesn't seem to have the inherent offense/defense tradeoff problems of past rosters.

I think C.J. could get 13-15 a game with no problem as long as his defense is good enough to keep him on the court

I think bionic is 100% correct, if we get anything at all from the 4 we could be really good. I really would like to see Bailey start because I think he could contend for SEC defensive player of the year I think he's that good defensively. I would like to see him rebound better and be somewhat consistent from 12-16 feet. Gabe could also give us some good minutes defensively at the 4 as well and then of course if we just want talent we could always go small ball with D Hall at the 4 and potentially be very very good if that works like I think it can.

Maybe Mike will play Trey and Gafford together a little like he did Moses and Trey this year. If that's our best 4/5 combo then at least in the final 10 minutes of games we could see that combo quite a bit. Lord I can't wait for basketball season

I would think he gets less playing time there isn't much more of a ceiling for him, at the very least stop shooting amongst the trees in the paint will be an improvement.

A senior getting less playing time under Mike Anderson? Good luck with that.

I don't see how we can say there isn't much more of a ceiling. It's silly to think that he can't play much better. Would you have said Jabril Durham had not much ofna ceiling before he led the team (and conference?) in assists as a senior? Beard has had a tumultuous time as a Razorback but this is a former top 100 recruit that has been a big presence at times during his career. Of course he can put it all together and have a great senior season.

that fact that there are literally a dozen answers to this question is AWESOME. I can't wait for basketball season. I smell a packed Bud Walton coming, too. Maybe WE THE PEOPLE will be "the difference" this year as we go undefeated in a packed BWA. wps.

A senior getting less playing time under Mike Anderson? Good luck with that.

I don't see how we can say there isn't much more of a ceiling. It's silly to think that he can't play much better. Would you have said Jabril Durham had not much ofna ceiling before he led the team (and conference?) in assists as a senior? Beard has had a tumultuous time as a Razorback but this is a former top 100 recruit that has been a big presence at times during his career. Of course he can put it all together and have a great senior season.

I guess he could slide into a roll like jabril with the rest of the returning guards having a score first mentality but I just don't see him being an assist guy. Hopefully I'm wrong nothing against him but he's small and slow for his size. He does play with toughness and heart but I just don't see much room for a big leap and be a difference maker.

The team lives and dies with incremental improvement across the roster; Beard stabilizes and reduces turnovers; Macon's offensive consistency evens out; Barford becomes more efficient. Trey keeps his productivity high as his minutes expand.

If the team is going to be better, it isn't going to be any single 'problem fixer' doing something. Its going to be across the board.

that fact that there are literally a dozen answers to this question is AWESOME. I can't wait for basketball season. I smell a packed Bud Walton coming, too. Maybe WE THE PEOPLE will be "the difference" this year as we go undefeated in a packed BWA. wps.

It's going to be hella fun, boysNgirls !! :razorback:

You sir get my point isn't it fun knowing there is no obvious answer to this question. There is opportunity for all who wants to put in the work. Carpe' Diem guys! Go get them

Obviously Barford and Macon will be the go-to guys. But I won't be surprised to see Trey Thompson elevate his game as a starter, especially with his passing ability as a big man. I think Gafford will be a rebounding/shot blocking force in the paint for Arkansas in the foreseeable future. Darious Hall has the skills to be another Marshawn Powell. :razorback:

I guess he could slide into a roll like jabril with the rest of the returning guards having a score first mentality but I just don't see him being an assist guy. Hopefully I'm wrong nothing against him but he's small and slow for his size. He does play with toughness and heart but I just don't see much room for a big leap and be a difference maker.

The Jabril Durham reference was not to say Beard will/could be a pass-first player that racks up a bunch of assists. I just believe he will elevate his level of playmaking. Maybe that's more assists, maybe that just more big-moment production and being less of a liability in certain areas. Durham was a player many (myself included) wrote off as not being capable of producing at a good clip and he ended ranking 2nd in the conference in assists and 3rd in steals. That was in 28 minutes of playing time on average. Beard's playing time has been pretty static (19 -> 21 -> 21), so I think it's pretty reasonable to assume he could get 5-7 of the minutes left behind by Dusty Hannahs to put him in that 25-27 MPG range. He's averaged 7 PPG the last two seasons. Reasonable to see him around the 10-13 PPG mark with a little more PT. He's averaged about 2 APG the last two years, so I'm on trying to paint him as a pass-first distributor all of a sudden. 12 points, 3-4 assists, 3 rebounds, 1-2 steals per game off the bench is what I'm expecting with a very heavy dose of leadership. He's been through the ringer thus far. I think the strength that he's probably gained from that shines through this season.

Macon and Barford are the unquestioned leaders in both role and production, but how big would it be to have a 3rd senior guard giving us double figures in scoring and proving strong in big moments? That's where I'm looking to Beard as a difference-maker. We forget that he showed that ability as far back as his freshman season.

personally, I hope we see a lot less Beard. 12 minutes or so per game. too short, too old to really build the team around. Not good enough , either. Makes bad decisions. Way too many other beasts on this team to be worrying about antoine freaking beard at this point. i hope he contributes, has a fine time helping the team, but he needs to NOT try to be The Man so much ... and I hope to God he's not on the floor for 25+ mpg.

personally, I hope we see a lot less Beard. 12 minutes or so per game. too short, too old to really build the team around. Not good enough , either. Makes bad decisions. Way too many other beasts on this team to be worrying about antoine freaking beard at this point. i hope he contributes, has a fine time helping the team, but he needs to NOT try to be The Man so much ... and I hope to God he's not on the floor for 25+ mpg.

Beard posted career highs in PPG, APG, SPG, FG%, 3P FG%, FT%, To be fair, he also averaged a career high in turnovers (but we're talking about 5 more turnovers from his previous high in 93 more minutes than his previous high). And he did average a career low in foul/game. And I'm looking at some of his junior-year performances: 16 points (75% from the field and 80% from the line) in a win at Tennessee, 16 points and 7 assists (71% from the field, 4/4 FTs) in a win vs LSU, 11 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals in a win at Vanderbilt, 11 points and 4 assists (67% from the field and 6/6 FTs) in a win at LSU (which was a badly-needed win), 11 points and 4 assists in a win over Ole Miss (3/6 from 3), and 10 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists in a would-be win over UNC in the 2nd round of the NCAA tournament.

This is a kid who we think can't get better in his season year despite having played steady minutes throughout his career, and now there is a big opening of backcourt minutes available (47 per game between Hannahs and Watkins)? Not a perfect player but he looks poised for a big year to me. He will definitely have to be more honest with himself and play within his limitations in a way that he has not done before, but the senior season is the time when a lot of players do that.

Okay, I'm done beating the Anton Beard drum. We'll see what happens. Don't be shocked when he's the backbone of another successful team this season.

Daniel Gafford is going to surprise a lot of people. I hear a lot of folks underestimating him just because he's a freshmen. But most will find out pretty soon that he is not your typical freshmen. He will have 3 roles and he will play them to a tee.

1. Defend and protect the rim2. Rebound3. Trash buckets, with his offensive rebounding skills he will average 10 points a game on put backs and lobs alone)

Daniel Gafford is going to surprise a lot of people. I hear a lot of folks underestimating him just because he's a freshmen. But most will find out pretty soon that he is not your typical freshmen. He will have 3 roles and he will play them to a tee.

1. Defend and protect the rim2. Rebound3. Trash buckets, with his offensive rebounding skills he will average 10 points a game on put backs and lobs alone)

My only real concern is foul trouble and adjusting to the officiating. Agree he'll be in the 8-10 PPG range if for no other reason than he's just going to be super-active around the basket. This kid was blocking 10+ shots in multiple games for El Dorado with insane rebounding numbers. He can hoop. No disagreement that he isn't polished at this point, but he's still going to be pretty good just off effort, athleticism, and length. So when he does start to polish his game.....watch out. I think he's a better prospect than Kingsley was. I think Gafford may even end up being better than Portis (just not in the same time frame).

Daniel Gafford is going to surprise a lot of people. I hear a lot of folks underestimating him just because he's a freshmen. But most will find out pretty soon that he is not your typical freshmen. He will have 3 roles and he will play them to a tee.

1. Defend and protect the rim2. Rebound3. Trash buckets, with his offensive rebounding skills he will average 10 points a game on put backs and lobs alone)

Sure seems that the majority of posters are expecting him to come in and be a day 1 starter. Haven't seen a lot of underestimating.

Daniel Gafford is going to surprise a lot of people. I hear a lot of folks underestimating him just because he's a freshmen. But most will find out pretty soon that he is not your typical freshmen. He will have 3 roles and he will play them to a tee.

1. Defend and protect the rim2. Rebound3. Trash buckets, with his offensive rebounding skills he will average 10 points a game on put backs and lobs alone)

Exactly. He is gonna at least split the Center minutes with Trey, if not play more. That's a big difference from saying he is 1st round NBA talent.

Shouldn't a 5-star player be expected to have a legit shot at playing a good-sized role right away in most cases?

Daniel Gafford finished, I believe, two slots away from being a 5-star. Simply put, he is #good.

Not necessarily, no; even less so for bigs, who are usually on the slow side of the developmental curve, even when they have all the tools-- one need look no further than Moses (higher ranked but very similar composite scores as Gafford) -- if we get a Freshman or Sophomore version of Moses, we're going to have a bunch of issues on the boards and with interior defense.

Beard posted career highs in PPG, APG, SPG, FG%, 3P FG%, FT%, To be fair, he also averaged a career high in turnovers (but we're talking about 5 more turnovers from his previous high in 93 more minutes than his previous high). And he did average a career low in foul/game. And I'm looking at some of his junior-year performances: 16 points (75% from the field and 80% from the line) in a win at Tennessee, 16 points and 7 assists (71% from the field, 4/4 FTs) in a win vs LSU, 11 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals in a win at Vanderbilt, 11 points and 4 assists (67% from the field and 6/6 FTs) in a win at LSU (which was a badly-needed win), 11 points and 4 assists in a win over Ole Miss (3/6 from 3), and 10 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists in a would-be win over UNC in the 2nd round of the NCAA tournament.

This is a kid who we think can't get better in his season year despite having played steady minutes throughout his career, and now there is a big opening of backcourt minutes available (47 per game between Hannahs and Watkins)? Not a perfect player but he looks poised for a big year to me. He will definitely have to be more honest with himself and play within his limitations in a way that he has not done before, but the senior season is the time when a lot of players do that.

Okay, I'm done beating the Anton Beard drum. We'll see what happens. Don't be shocked when he's the backbone of another successful team this season.

I'm on the Beard train as well. Your numbers don't lie, and I actually think he's going to make a leap this season. The combo of Beard, Macon, and Barford is going to cause series issues for opposing defenses. They're going to be fast, mean, and getting to the rim (when they don't kick it back out for three).

Don't think Beard will play much. If he does we will not be as good as we could be. We have way better options than Beard. IMO Cook and Thomas could be difference makers. We need them to be difference makers.

Don't think Beard will play much. If he does we will not be as good as we could be. We have way better options than Beard. IMO Cook and Thomas could be difference makers. We need them to be difference makers.

Bailey is a stud in the making he's gonna help at everything.

Another "Beard won't play much" poster. I don't get it. That thought flies in the face of everything we know to be true with how Anderson distributes playing time. And that's not even considering the fact that he's actually an important part of our chances at success. Khalil Garland is not as good as Anton Beard is right now. Beard's played 19-20 minutes per game in the SEC for 3 seasons. He takes some bad shots and makes some frustrating plays but you guys are acting like he sucks. Way better options? You including C.J. Jones in that? How did that work out last year? He's the unquestioned 3rd best guard on the team. Arguing otherwise is pure speculation and dart throwing. Garland will have his time and Jones will play good minutes this season, they just won't come at the expense of Beard.

If he really wants to help this team win I think he needs to be a better PG. I would love for him to bring leadership skills to this years team at PG. I also would love to see him to have better than 2-1 assists to TO ratio and really set up his teammates.

If he really wants to help this team win I think he needs to be a better PG. I would love for him to bring leadership skills to this years team at PG. I also would love to see him to have better than 2-1 assists to TO ratio and really set up his teammates.

What say you?

Beard isn't a pure PG. I'm not even sure we really need him to be this coming year. The offense will be so perimeter-oriented. An offense tailored around a big like Moses Kingsley benefits more from a pass-first/true PG than one run by combo guards like Baford, Macon, and Beard. That's just going to be our look this year. Gafford won't be a major part of the offense. He's going to probably live off putbacks for the most part.

I see Beard being more confident and playing smarter as a senior. They may lead to the better A/TO ratio you mentioned. I see clutch buckets and the gritty play we've seen for stretches thus far. Beard is what he is, but again, former top 100 recruit. He can hoop. He's going to put it all together this year. He will be the heart and soul of the team.

If he really wants to help this team win I think he needs to be a better PG. I would love for him to bring leadership skills to this years team at PG. I also would love to see him to have better than 2-1 assists to TO ratio and really set up his teammates.

What say you?

I'm not sure any of the Hogs' guards were great ball handlers last year. Barford, 1.0; Hannahs, .7; Macon, 1.2. Beard's 1.9 looks pretty good against those others.